Left-Wing Foundations Pouring Money Into Local News

Nearly two dozen liberal foundations will begin dropping $500 million into propping up local media infrastructures to drive coverage of issues that include criminal justice reform and climate change ahead of the 2024 elections.

Fox News Digital reports the initiative, called Press Forward, consists of 22 left-wing foundations and was organized by the MacArthur Foundation, which has pumped millions of dollars into progressive journalistic endeavors to create an "equitable future by informing, engaging, and activating Americans through deep investments in just and inclusive news and narratives."

John Palfrey

The effort will likely aid Democrat candidates who espouse those stances as a byproduct of its mission. The MacArthur Foundation, meanwhile, is linked to the Biden administration through the president's Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, which seeks to reduce gun violence, according to a White House press release from last year. 

"My sense is that we are losing a newspaper in America every week, and that’s a dangerous thing for American democracy," MacArthur Foundation president John Palfrey told the Washington Post on the new effort. "It’s hard to have a democracy when you don’t have good local news. When you lose credible news sources, misinformation and disinformation swoop in."

According to the Post, the coalition plans to thrust $100 million annually into the measure over the next five years for what they call a "lifeline" for local news.